The unrelenting farmers protests, the infamous insurrection attempt, hoisting of Kesari flag at Red Fort, subsequent leak of the toolkit has inadvertently exposed the dark underbelly of the global conspiracy to defame India. Inexorably Police investigations are now leading to explicit Khalistani links to the entire doom of conundrum that has descended on the national capital. Toolkit probe has inexorably exposed the sinister motives of the seemingly innocuous farmers protests.
Unfortunately, decades after
Independence, India struggled to rein in on the two “K Movements” that
threatened her territorial integrity and sovereignty. With the abrogation of
Article 370, Indian leadership has successfully scuttled the attempts of the
belligerent Western neighbour to keep the cauldron burning. Through masterful
diplomacy, India garnered international support and have downsized the “K
Movement” to an internal issue.
Refusing to mend ways, humiliated
western neighbour, whose very purpose of existence is destruction of India
began reigniting another “K Movement” with Kartarpur Corridor bait. Stoking
latent secessionist sentiments, Pakistan has deviously touched a raw nerve. Now
the vicious turn of events leading to desecration of Indian flag have exposed
the resurrection of the dreaded K-movement.
Under the garb of dissent,
opportunistically the old hostilities are now stoked. Before the animosities
blow out of proportions, it is advisable to understand and assess the genesis
of the enmity and the crisis faced by Punjab during 80s when political
dispensation allowed the situation slip into chaos.
Ravaged by Muslim invasions,
Marathas in the South and Gurus in Punjab created a religious and political
awakening leading to Hindu Renaissance. To achieve these twin purposes Guru
Govind Singh founded two sects (Panths)-Khalsa (warriors) and Nirmale
(upholders of Dharma). Dharma in this context was Hinduism. Special attribute
of Hinduism is the acceptance of existence of several Panths depending on the
needs of the time as different paths leading to the Divine. Creation of Panths
by Guru Govind Singh is based on this Liberal aspect of Hinduism.
The Khalsa Panth of warriors
emerged as power fighting force against Mughal Empire and even liberated some
areas from them. Intimidated by the valour of the Khalsa, Nadir Shah and Ahmad
Shah Abdali announced special cash rewards to kill them and perpetrated a genocide.
But didn’t waver their loyalty to protect the Dharma.
To overcome the thwarting efforts
of Mughals Sikhs eventually organised themselves similar to Marathas after the
death of Sambaji Rao into small bands or Jhattas and took on the Mughals. Later
they re-organised into 11 Misls with independent flag and a leader. Each Misls
administered their own provinces. Whenever they had information of a foreign
attack, they would attach them together. Ultimately Maharaja Ranjit Singh
brought these Misls together and established a Khalsa Empire in 1799. He ruled
impartially and appointed people from various religious denominations, Sikhs,
non-Sikhs, Rajput Muslims to high government posts. Held Brahmins in high
regard, banned cow slaughter and patronised temples.
Under his regime, Hindu families
would hold Pahul ceremony or a baptisation ceremony of the elder son of the
family who would become Keshadhari (one with uncut hair) and praticeed wearing
all the five K’s- (Kesh, Kangha, Kaccha, Kada and Kripan). Because of this
special identity, they assumed the names of Sikhs. The others were termed as
Sahajdharis. Hence there wasn’t any distinction between Sikh and Hindu under
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule from 1799 to 1839.
Indeed, English Officer GF Macmunn
wrote, “It is an important factor to remember that no man is born a Sikh, and
that he must be baptized to the faith. The baptismal ceremony, termed taking
the Pahul is usually performed on attaining, or just before attaining,
man-hood. A man who does not take the Pahul is automatically a Hindu”. The 1855
census has only Hindus and Muslim denominations.
British found the Hindu resistance
especially from the Khalsa sect (Amritdhari Sikhs who are recipients of Amrit)
as formidable. Anticipating danger from this Warrior class, Lord Dalhousie
after annexation of Punjab in 1855 disbanded them from the Army. Chief
Commissioner of Punjab, John Lawrence instigated the dismissed soldiers against
the soldiers from UP and Bihar as the people who has destroyed the kingdom of
Ranjit Singh and sowed seeds of suspicion between Hindus and Sikhs.
Later, Britishers twisted the
predictions of Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Govind Singh out of context to imply
that Sikhs should align with British to destroy the Islamic rule. By viciously
circulating these prophecies British attempted to earn the loyalty of Sikhs. Alarmed
by the concerted uprising against the British by both Hindus and Muslims
together, British tried every trick in the book to alienate both communities. Perceiving
the Hindu consolidation as another resistance to their authority, they sought
to create dissensions between Hindus and Sikhs. They adopted a divide and rule
policy to alienate Sikhs from Hindus.
Accordingly, they praised the
valour of Sikhs and goaded them to adhere to Sikh traditions to protect
themselves from the contagion of idolatry. British began to treat Sikhs as a
separate entity and encouraged them to consider themselves as distinct and
separate nation. They began the practice of saluting the Guru Granth Saheb in
specially constituted Sikh regiments and preferred recruiting the Keshadharis.
Gradually Britishers cultivated the
feeling of separateness from Hindus in Army camps, educational, administrative
and religious levels. Through the Priests of Gurudwaras, the British used to
exercise power and influence the masses. The degeneration of the Priest class,
their complicity towards the British and erosion of high ideals of Gurus
created a feeling of despair. To bring about self-improvement and inculcate
patriotism, Ram Singh who served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army began Kuka
Agitation in 1872. With the clarion call for Swadharma, Swadeshi and Swaraj,
this agitation quickly spread like a wild fire across Punjab. But the
Britishers who have already wooed the Landlords and Priest class, used them to
crush the agitation.
As a token of appreciation, British
allowed the formation of Sikh Sabhas which eventually called for loyalty
towards the Crown and even doubled up as recruitment platforms to the British
Army. Khalsa Diwan set up in Lahore and Amritsar excluded Sahajdharis supported
the policies of the British. By this time, British conducted special census in
Punjab and enumerated Sikhs separately. Indeed, people who claimed that, “We
are Hindus as well as Sikhs” were persuaded to register themselves as Sikhs.
To further the divisions between
Hindus and Sikhs, Assistant Commissioner Robert Nidhamcust suggested that Guru
Granth Saheb be translated into English and other European languages. They
assigned this task to Ernest Trumpp, a German Priest. Trumpp who couldn’t
translate the copy descended in Lahore and engaged with Sikh Granthis. But the
Granthis who were into war-like training lost their learning and could be of
little help. Eventually he turned to Pt Shraddha Ram Phillor for intellectual
help under the pretext that Sikhism is besot with distortions and ritualism.
Under his influence, Shraddha Ram and other scholars began to critically
analyse the evil practices in Sikhism. This became a contentious issue and
sowed seeds to mistrust between Hindus and Sikhs.
Though Trumpp finally underscored,
“Sikhs are only a part of Hindu Society and have strayed on a separate path
only after the Gurus, this troubled the Sikh scholars who began to ask, “Is
Sikhism a separate religion and when did it separate from mainstream
Hinduism?’’.
This eventually divided Sikhs into
two groups- one who believed Sikhs are one special variety of Hindus who
followed the Hindu ways and laws, another group under the influence of the
British tactics declared that they are not Hindus.
At this juncture, European Scholar
Macauliffe who supported the separate identity of Sikhs and volunteered to
translate Guru Granth Saheb. He criticised Trumpp and stated that
1. Sikh
religion didn’t originate from Hinduism but evolved on its own as an
independent religion and that Hindus were trying to devour it
2. Basic Sikh
philosophy was chivalry and unflinching loyalty for the master
3. Hindu
religion is biggest enemy of Sikh religion and protection of Sikh religion is
possible only with the British and hence they should be loyal to the British.
With this, the British successfully
sowed seeds of disaffection between Hindus and Sikhs. To deeply instill the
feeling of separateness, the British recognised Punjabi as the official
language in Punjab under the ruse of preserving the Sikh religion.
Keenly understanding the religious
practices of these communities, the British believed that at social level,
Sikhism rejected the caste which is central to Hinduism. To create hostilities
British even employed the handle of caste to deepen the divided between Hindus
and Sikhs. They exhorted the educated Sikhs that the Khalsa clearly doesn’t
respect the Hindu Pantheon or observe Hindu rites and even contended that Sikh
Gurus never practiced the Vedic Philosophy nor did they practice Brahmanical
rituals.
As against these dubious contentions
of British propagated by scholars- Lepen Henry Greiffen, Gorden, Binglay and
Payne, Guru Govind Singh sent five of his disciples- Karam Singh, Ganda Singh,
Veer Singh, Sena Singh and Ram Singh to Varanasi to learn Vedas, Puranas,
Shastras and Sanskrit language. They were allowed to remain celibate and
trusted with the responsibility of propagating religious learning.
Subsequently, Arya Samaj founded by
Swami Dayanand further accentuated the fissures by stating that Sikhism is
movement evolved to rid Hindu society of idol worship, casteism and hypocrisy
of priests. Following a criticism of Guru Nanak by Swami Dayanand, Arya Samaj over
a period of time had a sweet and sour relationship with Sikhs.
At society level, while lives of
Hindus and Sikhs varied interpretations by the British and Arya Samaj led to
proliferation of conflicting literature- Bhai Jagta Singh’s “Risala Satyaprakash”
concluded that Sikh sect is an old form of Arya Samaj. Lala Thakurdas and Baba
Narain Singh released a pamphlet titled-Sikh Hindu Hain.
On the contrary influenced by
Macauliffe’s interpretations, Sardar Kahan Singh propounded a Sikh Alienation
theory in his book, “Hum Hindu Nahin”. In a bid to earn the loyalty of Sikhs
whom British considered as vital to stall the Russian invasions, created this
confusion and dilemma and weaned them away from the concept of Indian nationalism.
Indeed, the Sikh loyalists under
the influence of General Dyer, who carried out Jalianwala Bagh massacre removed
all the idols of Hindu deities and dismissed the Brahmins from Hari Mandir in
Amritsar. Simultaneously, Arya Samaj which is trying to find a new identity as
a rational Hindu organisation tried to destroyed the bonds between Sikhs and
Hindus.
While removal of idols marked the
beginning of religious alienation, G W Leitner through an organisation
Anjuman-e-Punjab created a perception that Sikhs were a separate community and had
their own religion different from Hindus and introduced Gurumukhi script. He
set up a Gurumukhi school.
Motivated by the British initiative
Sikh intellectuals mooted the idea of establishing a Khalsa College to preserve
Sikh identity. The underlying objective was to prevent future generations of
Sikhs from getting lost in the multi-faceted Hindu religion. To obtain
government aid, the Khalsa Diwan keen of having Sikh Schools submitted a
representation to Viceroy Dufferin in 1888 indicating that, “they no longer
confounded with Hindus but treated in all respects as separate community”.
By inculcating a deep urge among Sikhs
for separate identity and constantly praising them for their valour, they
recruited thousands of Sikhs soldiers to fight for them during the World War I.
At the same thing, reminding them of rejection of idol worship and casteism
they alienated them from Hindus.
Despite these iniquitous attempts,
prominent Sikh leaders like Baba Gurubaksha Singh always professed that Sikhs
and Hindus were one and the same and that Sikhs were merely a section of the
Hindu nation. In 1907, Sikhs who have migrated to Western countries especially
to America provided leadership and support to revolutionary Gadar Movement. By
and large Sikhs remained loyal to the British till 1919.
In 1920 Sikhs formed the Gurudwara
Prabhandak Committee to regain control of Gurudwaras from Mahants and manage
them through an elected body. Since 1925, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak
Committee (SGPC) has been under the control of Akalis. Aside the religious
authority, Akalis who wanted to wield political influence called for
territorialisation of Sikhs and passed a resolution to this effect in 1946.
To assert themselves as saviours of
Sikhs, Master Tara Singh mischievously incited, …“the British have left but we
have yet to be free. For us, this so-called freedom means a change of masters,
the white masters have been replaced by black ones. Our freedom and our
religion are being suppressed in the name of secularism.” Interestingly, he
once said, “Hindus and Sikhs are in no way different from each other; it is
Hindu blood which is flowing in my veins”.
For political mileage, Akalis
pressed for a Khalistan, rejecting another religious based partition after the
unprecedented blood shed in 1947, Congress party approved the creation of state
of Punjab in 1966. But dissatisfaction lingered over sharing of Chandigarh and
river waters. After the creation of Punjab, Akali Dal’s ambition of retaining
the mantle of sole representative of Sikhs remained a pipe dream as it no
longer remained the sole representative of Sikhs. Some supported Congress.
After losing the electoral battle in 1973 Akalis passed Anandpur Sahib
Resolution for creation of political conditions to ensure the supremacy of the
Sikh community. It indirectly hinted at the stated objective of developing a
deep consciousness of a separate and independent identity and sowed the seeds
of Khalistan.
To counter this strategy Congress
propped up Bhindranwale, who spurred Khalistan Movement and instigated Sikhs to
kill Hindus and augured the emergence of militant Sikh cult. At around same
time, waiting for an opportunity to avenge the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistan
extended supported to staunch Khalistani advocates like Jagjit Singh Chauhan
who started Khalistan National Council and raised Khalistan Flag in Birmingham.
By 1980s both Bhindranmwale and
Harancharan Singh Longowal President of Akalis called for Dharmayudh and set up
respective camps in the Hari Mandir Saheb. For the fear of being labelled as
separatist group while Akalis decamped from the Golden Temple. Bhindranwale
turned the holy shrine into fortress prompting the launch of Operation Blue Star
to crush the secessionist movement. The ensuing events as we all know has
deepened the divide between Hindus and Sikhs.
Interestingly, rebel Sikh elements
were accorded shelter, support and aid by Pakistan, Canada, US, UK. Pakistan’s
ISI trained Sikh extremists in guerrilla warfare and has been instrumental in
creation of International Sikh Youth Foundation (ISYF) and Babbar Khalsa
International (BKI). Irked by India’s Friendship Treaty with Russia, US,
Canada, UK turned a blind eye to the secessionist movements mushrooming in
their territories.
While India managed to snuff out
extremist elements from its territories back in 1980s, over the years the deep
sectarian, religious and linguistic alienation attempts have seeded mistrust.
These disgruntled elements over the years have been trying to regroup under the
banner of Khalistan movement.
Unable to break the stiff
resistance, Britishers adopted Divide and Rule and created a wedge between
Hindus and Sikhs and after independence political parties instead of assuaging
these creeping disaffections widened them for their own political objectives.
Right now, country is staring at
the resurgence of Khalistan monster backed by Pakistan and other foreign
elements. While it is essential to strike at the roots of these malignancy with
concerted efforts it is important to remove the venom of distrust. This can be
essentially achieved by getting back to the sacred books to delve into the
ideological similarities between Hindus and Sikhs which are the Vedas. Creating
much needed awareness about the teachings of Gurus can ameliorate the poison of
alienation. Besides, castigating the entire Sikh community for few
anti-national elements it is important that citizens of country unite in one
voice to frustrate the attempts of the Khalistani elements and anti-India
Brigade grouping under the veil of farmers protests.
For nearly two centuries vested
groups have been trying to earn the loyalty of Sikhs known for their martial
prowess as pawns. It is time they realise the higher objective of Indian
nationalism postulated by their Gurus and seek recourse in Guru Granth Saheb.
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